Science and Religion

I wont call this an attempt to answer the eternal question pestering mankind, the relation between
science and god, but a mere attempt to look at the matter without a stereoscopic vision. A certain
individual remarked Where Science ends, Religion begins. I refuse to concur. The matter is as easy
and as complicated as it can get. God made man, Man made religion; and man made Science. So it
would be safe to say that both have an equal footing. We were afraid of things we didnt
understand.....the forces of nature, growth, development, human intellect. We elevated their
positions and designated them as gods. By the way........god is strictly a term of Christian origin (Old
English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch god and German Gott)......a universal approach would be
the Supreme Being (SB).

So the SB became more and more powerful. Also parallel to this, we understood the various
phenomena in nature. What we understood and could comprehend, we called science, and the rest
was left to the mercy of priests and leaders.

The Srimad Bhagwatam refers to Brahma as the creator of our immediate universe, which exists in
a larger Universe of Vishnus breath, which exists in an even larger multiverse of light coming from
Golok Vrndavan, Krsna's ultimate abode. Beyond That...nothing. In biblical religions (Islam, Judaism,
Christianity), God is the ultimate creator.....where did he come from......it remains unsaid. In Physics
the universe began with a tiny particle, which suddenly had to expand indefinitely to reach its
current state. In the String theory, there are parallel layers of universes called membranes or
branes, which are present in the multiverse. Beyond that? Stephen Hawking put forward a most
radical theory....his universe does not have a beginning or an end....neither has it existed forever. So
finally we conclude conclusion that beyond space there is a state of spacelessness and timelessness.
Both Religion and god stop at the question...What is beyond that?

Some would call the Bhagwad Gita a most scientific and technical piece of work. Brahmastra or the
atom bomb, "anu" and "parmanu or the molecule and the atom, "pushpak vimaan" or helicopter,
"bahurupi" or the capacity to somatically divide in seconds, are only few of the mysteries
enumerated in the ancient texts of India. Perhaps our ancestors had access to more advanced
technology than we previously estimated. So does excavating the myths of religion bring us closer
to Science and Technology and innovative ideas?

In most religions of the native tribes (Mayas, Incas) nature as manifested in animals and forests
have been object of reverence and have been protected. These ideas of nature worship, irrespective
of their origin, played an important role in preserving nature and her resources. Could such laws or
stories have been made intentionally so that the general crowd may perform accordingly without
questioning the true purpose of these instructions? In lieu of the present circumstance of global
warming...these dont really sound dumb!
Why do we need to be scientific or religious? Each complements and supplements the other. We
look back upon our ignorance in the past to seek answers at times. And religion offers a ray of hope
to keep searching for the ultimate, which is established to exist. Without one the other would not
come into existence. Perhaps we cud look at both as mans never-ending incapacity to understand
the ultimate, that both are leading to the same destination questions, and more questions!

Vedant Prusty
Feb-Mar-Apr 2010